Joe Tsai

Net worth over time

Forbes estimates of Joe Tsai's net worth each year, next to the Forbes value of the Brooklyn Nets. From 2014 to now the net worth went from $3.7B to $12B, about 3 times as much.

Yearly points are from the Forbes billionaires lists, mostly the spring World's Billionaires list; the last point is the latest Forbes real-time figure, which can differ a lot from the spring list. Years without a published figure are skipped.

The businesses in detail

How the main business makes money. Alibaba runs China's biggest online shopping sites, where millions of merchants sell to consumers. Merchants pay Alibaba for advertising and commissions. Cloud customers pay for computing and AI services. In the year to March 2026, China e-commerce brought in RMB 554.2B and cloud RMB 158.1B, up 34%. Operating profit fell 64% to RMB 50.2B (US$7.3B). Capital spending was RMB 126.1B (US$18.3B).

Biggest deals.

• 2005: Yahoo paid $1B for 40% of Alibaba.
• September 2014: Alibaba's New York listing raised $25B at $68 a share, then the largest ever.
• 2018-2019: he bought the Nets in two steps at $2.3B and $2.35B valuations, plus Barclays Center for nearly $1B.
• 2019-2020: Alibaba bought Kaola for about $2B and control of Sun Art for $3.6B.
• June 2024: Julia Koch and family paid $688M for 15% of BSE Global; $492M repaid his owner loans.

Career path

1. 1990

   Earns his Yale law degree; tax associate at Sullivan & Cromwell

2. 1995

   Moves to Hong Kong to run Asian private equity for Sweden's Investor AB

3. 1999

   Meets Jack Ma in Hangzhou and joins Alibaba's founding team

4. 2014

   Alibaba lists in New York

5. 2018

   Completes the purchase of 49% of the Nets

6. 2019

   Buys the Liberty, the rest of the Nets and Barclays Center

7. 2023

   Becomes Alibaba chairman

8. 2024

   Sells 15% of BSE Global; buys 3% of the Miami Dolphins

9. 2026

   Divorce from Clara Wu Tsai announced on 31 July; both say ownership and roles will not change

Teams and sports assets

Owns now 12

• teamBrooklyn NetsNBA · Basketball · USSince 2018 · controlling; 85% of BSE Global with Clara Wu Tsai · $2.3B valuation for 49% (2018); $2.35B valuation for 51% (2019)
• teamLong Island NetsNBA G League · Basketball · USSince 2019 · through BSE Global
• arenaBarclays Center operating companyBasketball · USSince 2019 · through BSE Global · nearly $1B
• teamNew York LibertyWNBA · Basketball · USSince 2019 · through BSE Global; a 10-20% stake sold in 2025 at a $450M valuation · $10-14M
• sports businessNets Gaming CrewNBA 2K League · Esports · USthrough the Nets
• teamSan Diego SealsNational Lacrosse League · Lacrosse · USowner
• teamLas Vegas Desert DogsNational Lacrosse League · Lacrosse · USSince 2021 · co-owner
• league stakePremier Lacrosse LeaguePremier Lacrosse League · Lacrosse · USSince 2019 · investor
• teamMiami DolphinsNFL · American football · USSince 2024 · 3% · not published; talks valued the team and stadium group at $8.1B
• teamLos Angeles FCMLS · Soccer · USminority
• sports businessG2 EsportsEsportsminority
• sports businessJust Women's SportsWomen's sports mediaSince 2022 · led a funding round

Other investments and assets

• Companies and funds: His Alibaba shares are worth about $3.5-3.7B at the October 2026 market value. Blue Pool's named holdings include SpaceX, Golden Goose, Epic Games and ByteDance.
• Property: A penthouse at 220 Central Park South, New York, bought for $188M in January 2022.
• Family in the business: Clara Wu Tsai is vice chair of BSE Global and governor of the Liberty. The couple said their children will be involved in long-term ownership.

Giving and politics

• Yale: $30M to Yale Law School in 2016 for the Paul Tsai China Center, named for his father.
• A $220M pledge to the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance in 2021.
• $50M to Lincoln Center and the New York Philharmonic, and a $50M social justice commitment in 2020.
• The largest gift in the Lawrenceville School's history, in 2017; he is a trustee.
• In October 2019 he published an open letter criticising Daryl Morey's tweet about Hong Kong.

How they run their teams

• He says owners should stay in the background and let professional managers run the teams.
• The Durant, Irving and Harden era ended in a break-up. Since mid-2024 he has backed a full rebuild, using all five first-round picks in the 2025 draft.
• He funded part of the purchase with owner loans; $550M was still outstanding in 2024 before the Koch sale.

What they have said

• He wants a winning culture that lasts, not one bought by trading away the future.
• His first rule of ownership is humility: the owner should not become the face of the team.
• The 2026 title won by the New York Knicks embarrassed the Nets, he admitted, but the rebuild stays.
• He bought the Nets and Liberty as fairly safe assets, like prime Manhattan property, and credits media rights for their rise.
• He and chief executive Eddie Wu cut Alibaba back to two priorities: core e-commerce and AI-driven cloud.
• He prefers control to passive stakes and sees Asian media rights as undervalued.

Little-known facts

• His starting pay at Alibaba in 1999 was $50 a month.
• He grew up partly near Philadelphia as a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers.
• He bought the Liberty from the company run by James Dolan.
• He was part of a losing bid for the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
• He holds his Alibaba shares directly and through holding companies in the Bahamas and British Virgin Islands.